Monday, June 12, 2006
4:18 AM
Hand Evaluation - Forcing NT ( 2♣ rebid )
PITBULLS:
The spade suit is the
highest ranking suit in Bridge. This elementary fact quite often pre-empts
partner. When you open 1♠, partner responds 1NT beware of the 2♠ rebid. This bid
virtually shuts out partner unless she has a good enough hand to bid at the 3 level . Most people play BART , but
we feel there is a better way. Play a 2♣ rebid as forcing one
round & possibly artificial !
Partner will usually relay to 2♦ with some “break the
relay” exceptions .
Holding ♠KQxxxx ♥Axx ♦Axx ♣x , you open 1♠ with partner
responding a forcing 1NT. Since you have 3♥’s to the Ace , I would bid 2♣ . This gives partner a chance to
bid 2♥ or otherwise
describe her hand. Say you bid 2♠ , partner holds ♠x ♥KJ10xx ♦KJx ♣xxxx or similar hands. 4♥ has a play but two ♠’s probably goes
down. Since the main purpose of this structure is to find your heart fit , responder breaks the relay with 5 or more
hearts with any strength. Responder will also break the relay with a
limit raise in spades by bidding 2♠. With a very strong club hands ( 5 or more ) & a stiff spade , responder will break the
relay by bidding 3♣. This is how you play a 2♣ partial
J .
Let
the system do the work for you. If
you have heart tolerance , do not “pre-empt” the
bidding by rebidding 2♠. ♠AJxxxx ♥Kxx ♦Ax Kx You open 1♠
, partner
responds 1NT . 2♠ has a high
probability of ending the auction. You have 15 HCP but your suit is not good
enough to jump to 3♠. Its
these “in between” hands that you do everything in your power to keep
the bidding open. Playing 2♣ as a one round force works nicely.
I
like a 2♠ rebid to mean a lack
of heart tolerance with a decent spade suit. Game in the other major
is shut out too many times by that rebid. I like playing a 2/1 in a minor , rebidding the minor as non forcing after a major
opener. Therefore , by the negative inference if
partner bids a minor after my 2♠ rebid , she is rescuing the partial , not showing
any cards. ♠x ♥Kxx ♦QJ109xxx ♣xx is a 3♦ bid after a 2♠ rebid so probably
says that 2♠ is not going to
make.
Playing
3♣ as a multi-purpose jump shift clarifies these hand types. A 3♠ & 3♥ bid is invitational
so can be done on lighter values . 6-4’s are always
shown by rebidding the 4 card suit. Therefore , a 2♠ rebid is getting
close to being a “picture” bid. A single suited minimum with
no heart tolerance & a decent suit.
The
5-4-3-1 hands or 5-4-4-4 hands with values in the intermediate
to strong range are notoriously hard to bid after a forcing NT . A SJS into a 4 card suit is lame bidding & bidding
2NT is a bit of a kludge with an outside stiff . The
in between intermediate hands are described by a simple rebid
, the same bid you would have made with a light opener. This is wrong ! Enter the 2♣ bid forcing one round as a fix
for those hand types also. ♠AJxxx ♥KQxx ♦x ♣AQx . You open 1♠
& partner bids 1NT . You bid 2♥ with a minimum 5-4
in the majors but 2♣ with a good hand with
hearts. If responder now bids 2♥ this is happiness
but if partner just accepts the relay, you now bid 2♥ which shows your
strength.
♠AQxxx ♥x ♦KQxx ♣AKx
Partner bids 1NT to your 1♠ opener , so you rebid 2♣. Partner bids 2♥ or 2♦ , you now bid 3♦ which shows a SJS with
only 4 diamonds. Now a direct SJS into diamonds must show 5♦. Ditto
with the strong hands with a 4 card club suit. You no longer have to bid
3♣ & break the relay to 3NT with those hands. It is important to open
5-5’s in the blacks 1♣ even with intermediate strength so as to avoid this structure. ♠AQxxx ♥x ♦xx ♣AKJxx open
1♣ , not one spade. With even
stronger black two suiters also open 1♣ &
rebid 2♠’s.
There
is another hand that responder breaks the relay.
Responder breaks the relay to 2NT which shows a weak hand
in support of clubs with no spade fit. For a memory aid ,
2NT is a relay to 3♣ . ♠AJxxx ♥Ax ♦xx ♣Axxx opposite ♠x ♥xxx ♦Kxxx ♣Kxxxx .
1♠-P-1NT-P
2♣-P-2NT-p
3♣
Also opener uses 2NT as a bid of convenience to show any legitimate 2♣
hands that are not strong. Partner can pass 2NT or correct to 3♣. If
responder has spade tolerance with clubs she bids 2♦ as a “waiting bid”. You
also accept the relay to 2♦ with standard 2NT
type hands. The down side to this structure is the inability to play 2♣
as a contract. You must play 2NT or 3♣ with these hands. Balancers never
let you play 2♣ as a contract anyway so 2NT will pre-empt them J